The Arizona State Sun Devils suffered another bad loss on Friday night, their third in three weeks. The loss to the California Golden Bears may ultimately end up proving to be the last game for head coach Dennis Erickson, according to Doug Haller of the Arizona Republic.
Sources: Dismissal could come soon for ASU football coach Dennis Erickson
Vice President of Athletics Lisa Love did not return messages left by The Republic on Saturday, but multiple sources confirmed that the end is near for coach Dennis Erickson, and his dismissal could come soon.
With the loss, the Sun Devils fell to 6-6, with a record of 4-5 in Pac-12 play. Although they are bowl eligible for the first time since 2007 and Erickson boasts a winning record as head coach (31-30 during his tenure), the 2011 season was in many ways an embarrassment for ASU. They lost games to beatable teams, often watching leads dwindle away before ending up in the loss column.
A similar story has popped up regarding UCLA head coach Rick Neuheisel, although the Bruins athletic director has gone on record that Neuheisel will be around to coach Friday's Pac-12 championship game. That makes a lot of sense, given that if UCLA manages to pull off a huge upset against the Oregon Ducks, they'd earn a spot in the Rose Bowl, regardless of their 6-7 losing record. It remains to be seen, however, whether ASU will want to keep Erickson around to coach the Sun Devils in a postseason bowl game. Erickson's contract is set to expire in 2013.
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